Assembling machine for thin metal sheets



Feb. 12, 1935. .1. CHRISTIE EIAL ASSEMBLING MACHINE FOR THIN METALSHEETS Filed Jan. 7, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 QwucntowebhnCln'isilb8Jzelliorfl6men,

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J. CHRISTIE Er AL ASSEMBLING MACHINE FOR THIN METAL SHEETS sSheets-Sheet 2 Fi led Jan. 7', 1932 wkncm-iaz emzewz'mflamem MZZM- Feb.12, 1935.

ASSEMBLING MACHINE FOR THIN METAL SHEETS Filed Jan. 7, 1952 sSheets-Sheet} mfi5 K v ,k:

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J. CHRISTIE EIAL 1,991,138 1 Patented Feb. 12,1935 i p 1 1,991,138

; UNITEDI STAT S. PATENT worries I f 1 1,991,138 I A ASSEMBLING: MACHINEFOR THIN METAL 'John Christie and Newton B. Greenyltochester Q i i N;Y., assignors to Eastman Kodak Company,

BochestenN. Y, a corporation of .New York. I

Application January 7, i932, serielNo. 585,117 '6 Claims. it (01. ic-4m-I'hisinvention relates to an assembling machine .of therivetingioperation distorting or moving and more particularly. tomachinesfor joiningtothe parts relative to each other. during theasgether relatively thin .sheet metal parts. One sembling operation. fobject of our invention is toprovide a machine Coming now to thedrawings wherein like refv 5 which will unite'thinmetal parts at aseriesof erencecharacters denote like partsthroughout', 5

different locations in asingle'operation. Another Fig. 1 is a frontielevationshowingdiagramobject. of our invention is to provide a machinematically a machineewhich maybe usedinvcon which will hold parts to beunited in a predeternectionwith our'invention for operatingthe asminedrelation. Another object of our invention sembling machine. l 1.

10, is to provide a machine with several stations, Fig. 2 isaperspective view of aw'ork-holder 10 each station being .equipped rtoproperlyposition adapted toaccurately position aplurality of parts partsto be united so that these parts1may be to bejoined togethen 1 i f 1 'flperforated'at one station and riveted at the other Fig. 3sis a top planView of; the? work-holder station. Another object of our invention is toshown in Fig. 2 seated in 'one'of the seats of the provide a machineforrivetinglight metal'parts assembling machine. 1 p e together, whichincludes a rivet slugxfeeding Fig.5; is an enlarged front plan view ofthe mechanism which automatically delivers a pluwork-holder seated inthe riveting seat 'of the rality of rivets to the perforated parts to beassembling machine. e J i 7 Joined together. is Still another object. of"0111' me Fig; E is asection'on-line 5- 5 of. Fig.4, parts ventionx isto provide. a work-holder adapted to being omitted for clearness." I 1accurately hold parts in position for assembling '.Fig.. 6 is asideyelevation of therivet-feeding and toprovide a plurality of seatsinto whichthe mechanism. I i work-holder may beaccurately and rapidlylo- Fig. 7 is an'enlarged sectional View showing a cated;to position,therparts tobe assembled for rivet slug positioned relativetc the partsto be different steps ofthe assembling operations, and joined together.T r Y 25 other Obj t Will pp r from the following Fig. 8. 'saviewsimilar to Fig"? but with the specification, the novel features beingparticu riveting tools broughtinto operative position, and larly pointedout in the claims atthe end thereof. showing the rivet slug deformed andheaded over In assembling light W t he eta pa s; to forma rivetforholding the parts'together.

it has been customary to form the pieces into the Fig. 9 is afragmentaryview, partially in section, 3 proper shape andperforatezjthese pieces, after ofthe perforating part of the assemblingmachine. which the perforations in the. various parts are In assemblingcertaincamera .partswhich are br gh i t p p r r io n yriv d by made'fromlight weight sheet metal, it isdifncult Placing One IiVBt at atime inthe e t. mto" accuratelyposition these parts. For instance,

p m a y apertures nd thus joining the parts the body of a camera 1 maybe provided with a 35 together- I hasbeen found, h v imparts bracketzwhich'has up-turned ends 3'perforated where considerabl a ura varequired, that it at 4 (as best shown in Fig. 4')these.perforations i sdifiieult hold the apertures o the p p being later used to locate a filmguidingfroller. tolerances and it is difficult to assemble the parts h sfilm guiding 1 g-m t accurately Q 40 propefly whe ey v not been fi p daligned with each other, otherwise film will. not to in a definitepredetermined PO wind smoothly across-the exposure aperture 5 We. havdesi n machine in which p r of the camera body. For the purpose ofillustratwhichmust b a u a y p relative t a h ing our invention, we willdescribe an assembling other can be assembled withconsiderable speed.achin particularly designed for assembling A work-holder is providedwith'means for-accutheseiparts quickly and accurately; 45

re ell/p si a of t rt tub ss m- Broadly speaking, our inventioncomprisesan 1 bled in their p p a v P t O 'With t machine which utilizes a ram10'whichis mountw rk s amp d i t w e d nth pa tsar ed to move over a bed11. This, as indicated'in p rf a i a Single p at jaS ma y Fig. 1, may beconveniently: accomplished by the perforationsas may be desirable forthe purpose. ordinary type of punchpress. This punch press 50 i Thework-holder with the parts still clampedin may consist of a ram 10connected by a crank position is then moved to another station where 12to an eccentric l3, this eccentric being operrivets are.accuratelyplaced through thejaperated froma shaft 14 on whichthere isaflytures and, since the parts are still clampedaccu wheel 15 in theusualmanner, that is, the shaft rately in a definite'position, there isno tendency 14 may be rotated. one revolution tat a time 55 parts may beperforated, and station ,B being the station in which rivet slugs may beplaced in the apertures formed at station A and in 1 which they maybeheaded over into rivets to hold the parts together. I

In order to accurately position the parts tobe joined together, weprovide a work-holder, as.

shown in Fig. 2, although it willbe understood that these work-holdersare necessarily of the shape necessary to handlethe particular parts tobe worked upon.

In Fig. 2, the Work-holder is shown as. including a base 16 having sideflanges 17, a slotted back 18, and a pin 19, having a tapered point 20and an annulargroove 21 extending around the tapered point. This memberserves to locate the work-holder. in one of the seats at stations A or Bin the following manner:

As indicated in Fig. 3, the arm 19 is adapted to pass through anaperture 22so that the an nular groove 21 may be engaged by the latchingmembers 23, these members being spring pressed by thesprings 24 intoengagement with the arm 19 to form a snap-latch therewith. The work,-holder sides 17 (as best shown in Fig. engage the sides of a seat-whichconsists of a block 25, and the work-holder is further positionedby atongue 26 engaging a stop .27 provided with a locating bar 28. Thus,when the work-holder is to be placedin the seat, it is only necessary toa push member 26 on the stop 27 and push the work-holder into the seatwith the sides of recess 18 engaging the sides of block 25 until thesnaplatch, consistingv of parts 21 and 23, operates to hold thework-holder in place.

In order to hold the parts operated upon in the work-holder in place,the following mechanisin is used: Referring to Figsml and 5, the camerabody 1 is held in place by means of flanges on the camerabody, whichengage the base 16 of the work-holder and there is a locating plate 29on the work-holder which can be swung about the pivot30 by means of ahandle 31 so that the edges 32 of this plate press the camera bodyfirmly in position on the work-holde As indicated in Fig. 5, the plate29 is latched in either an open or a closed position by means of a ball33 pressed outwardly by a. spring 34 lying in the aperture 35 ofportion16 of the work-holder. When the plate 29 is moved to the position shownin Fig. 4, it will retain the camera body on the work-holder. Whenturned at 90 to this position, the camera body can be removed from thework-holdersince the bellows frame 5 is of larger dimensions than theoutside of the plate 29.

In order to hold the top bracket 2 in position with the apertured ears 3in proper position relative to the camera body 1, we provide a pair oflocating pins 36 which, as best shown in Fig. 3, may consist of plungers37 pressed towards each other by springs 38,- the plungers beingequipped with handles 39 which .may be manually pulled apart, permittingthe camera bracket 2 to be located between the locating pins. With aworkholder of this type, the several parts can be very quicklypositioned and when so positioned they are accurately located withrespect toeach other.

The work-holder, with the parts assembled thereon, can be handled as aunit. This workholder may be inserted in the seat A, the seats A and Bbeing both formed as shown in Fig. 3. When soseated, the camera partsare in position for the first operation which is punching the apertureswhich will later receivetthe rivets. As indicated in Fig. 9, the ramcarries a plurality of punches 40 which operate through an aperturedblock 41 which is mounted on studs 42 on which the blockhas a limitedmovement relative to the ramlO, due to the springs 43 which are putunder compression as the block 41 descends on the, work At station Abeneath the punches 40,"there is'a plate 44 and a plurality of apertures45, mating with the punches 40, as is customary with this type machine.A single operation of the ram 10 With'the tool above describedperforates four apertures 46 in the camera parts as indicated in Fig. 3.With the parts still held by the work-holder, thework-holder ispulledoff of the seat A and inserted in theseat B. This operation can be veryquickly pefiormed because the work-holder is. merely held by thesnaplatch .2123.in each of the seats. The work is now in position forthe second operation, which is the riveting operation. *Referring toFig. 4, the

riveting operation is performed by automatically different methodsandmachines for feeding such slugs and for heading them also shown. V

In the present instance, the ram 10 isproover into rivets are vided withthe usual perforated block 46 which has limited movement on studs 47'relative to the ram, the springs 48 being under compression when theblock 46 descends upon the work before the riveting tools 47 function.The riveting tools 47 are, of course, spaced in'the same pattern as theperforating tools 40'and are similarly positioned with respectto seatBand, consequently, with respect to a work-holder positioned'in theseat. The tools l'l are adapted to pass through tubular guideways 49from which branch guideways 50 lead up to a rivet feeding slide 51.

This slide, as best shown in Fig. 6, is mounted on the clamping p1ate46which can move relative to the ram 10. The slide 51 passes through aslot 52 in plate 46 and is provided on each side with a pair ofangularly disposed slots 53. The spherical rivet slugs 54 may be feddown through the guideways 55, which lead to a supply 56 (Fig. 1) ofspherical slugs. consist of any suitable container withtubes' leadingdownwardly to' the guideways 55.

Each time the plate 51 moves relative to the ram, as always occurs whenthe ram descends for a riveting operation, when the springs 18 (Fig. 4)are placed under compression, the slide 51 is moved by acam'57 which iscurved at 58. This bent arm serves as a cam operating against roller 60carried by slide 51 so that longitudinal movement of the slide isaccomplished when the ram 10 and the plate 46 approach and move awayfrom each other as a spring 61 keeps roller 60 in contact with cam 58. II

This longitudinal movement is only a short distance, sufiicient to dropthe spherical slugs 54 into the guideways 50 and at each operationof theram. This feeding device permits four rivet slugs to roll down theguideways, 50, down the relative to the work. i

We prefer to form the riveting tools 62 whichv cooperate with rivetingtools 47, as indicated in Fig. 7, with a central spherical depression 63which is surrounded by an annulardepression 64. The upper riveting tool4'? may have an annular depression 65 in the end 66 of the tool so thatwhen these two tools come together as the ram 10 descends to its lowestposition, the; spherical slug 54 may be deformed and headed over intothe shape shownat 55-R wherein the slug forms a rivet to hold plates 1and. 2 together. i n

It will be noted from thesefigures that the aperture 46 is of suflicientsize to receive the spherical slug and that the thickness of the plates1 and 2 to be joined is such that there is suflicient metal in the slug54 to properly. head over at 55-1-1 to hold the parts properly, to-,.

gether. Obviously, this machine will be unsuit- T able for joining heavymetalplates, because'a spherical rivet would not then have sufiicientmetal to accomplish the desired end.

There is also an additional reason forhaving a relatively large rivet;that is, that the head por-- tions of the rivet extend only a minimumdisv tance away from the surface of the sheets being joined. This has adistinct advantage where compactness of the assembled sheets is desired.2

Our improvement lies in the complete assembling machine whichgreatlyfacilitates joining,

thin metal plates together, particularly where a high degree of accuracyis required and where it is necessary to place a plurality of rivets inthe parts to hold them properly. i f

It is obvious that the preferred embodiment which we have described isonly one form of a machine which may be constructed in accordance withour invention, and it is possible to perforate parts being, assembledwith a large number of apertures andto place simultaneously a largenumber of rivets in accordance with our inven-- tion. We, therefore,contemplate as within the j scope of our invention allsuch modificationsas may come within the terms of the following Having now described ourinvention, what we claim as new and desire to be secured by LettersPatent of the United States is;

1. In an assembling machine the combination with a bed and a' rammoveable thereover, of a seat located beneath the ram, a plurality ofco- 1 operating tools on the bed and ram, a work holdand including i apair of positioning plungers er adapted to be removably engaged in theseat adapted to engage parts and position them in an assembled relation,and cooperating elements on the work holder and seat for latching theworkholder in a fixedposition in the seat where:

by said parts to be assembled may be fixedly posi 1 n n actuated memberincluded in one cooperating hold said plungtioned between said bed andram.

i 2. In an assembling machine the combination with a bed and arammoveable thereover, of a seat located beneath the ram, a plurality orcooperating tools on the bed and ram, a work seat and'includingmoveablymounted work engaging members adapted to engage and positionparts to be assembled, means for positioning said work holder in saidseat comprising cooperating walls carried by thework holder and seat,and a spring latch adapted to hold saidwork holder in said seat with theparts to'beassembled in posii tion to be actedupon by the toolson thebed and v 3. Inlan assembling machine the combination v I v with a bedand'a rammoveable thereover, of "a seat located'bene'ath theram, aplurality'of cox-5 operating tools on the bed and ram, a work holderadapted to beremovably engaged in the seat and includingmoveably mountedwork engaging memholder adapted to be removably engag'ed in "thebersadapted to eng'age and position parts to be! assembled, means forpositioning said work holder in said seat'co'mprising cooperating wallscari 20 riedby thework holder and seat, and aspring latch comprising agrooved plunger adapted to slide through an aperture and latch memberspositionedto engage said groove, said plunger and aperture being carriedbysaid work holder and seat, whereby the latter may be detachably'latched to the former. v V

4. In' an assemblingmachine the combination with a bed and a rammoveable thereover, of a seat located beneath the ram, a plurality of00- operating tools on the bed and ram, a work holder adapted'to beremovably engaged in the seat and including moveably mounted workengaging members, adapted to engage and positionparts to be assembled,means forpositioningsaidwork holderlin said seat comprising cooperatingwalls carried by the work holder and seat, and a spring latch comprisinga grooved plunger and an aperture adapted to receive the plunger on thework holder and seat, and apair of latching members projecting intosaidaperture and adapted to engage grooved plunger by thrusting the workholder, toward the seat. f

5. In an assembling machine the combination with a bed and a rammoveablethereover, of a seat located beneaththe ram, a plurality ofcooperating tools on the bed and ram, a work holderadapted to beremovably-engaged in the seat and including moveably mounted workengaging members adapted to engage and position parts to be assembled,means .for positioning saidwork holder'in said seat comprisingcooperating. walls carried by the work holder and seat, and a springlatchcomprising an elongated member and latch ing elements to engagesaidelongated member, i

55' may slide, said elongated member and aperture being adapted to guidesaid work holder into said seat and said latching elementsbeingadaptedto an aperture into which saidelongated member retain-said workholder in said seat.

, 6. Inanassembling machine, the combination with a bed and a rammovable thereover, of aseat located beneath the ram, a work holderadapted to be carried in said seat, means for retaining parts toreassembled on the work holder, a'coma bined, guide and latch includingcooperating parts on the work holder and seat adapted to guide the workholder intoan operative position in the r I seat, said cooperatingpartsincluding a plunger, an aperture to receive the plunger and aspring partand adapted toengage and er in an operative. position.

JOI-IN CHRISTIE.

